1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical devices and more particularly pertains to various connectors designed to facilitate the healing of broken bones or torn tissue in the human body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is a plethora of well known devices used in the medical field for the purpose of temporarily connecting broken bones and torn tissue. Most of these devices rely upon implantable rods positionable within a broken bone, bone and tissue plates attachable to external surfaces of the bones and tissue, and surgical steel screws designed to attach plates or otherwise hold broken bones together by a threaded attachment arrangement. These various devices are constructed out of conventional materials such as stainless steel, titanium, and chrome cobalt alloys. These rigid materials will often cause atrophy of a broken bone which frequently then results in the necessity of having a second medical operation.
A typical example of a bone implant is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,378 which issued to Jitendra Sodhi on Nov. 29, 1988. This patent discloses a self-retaining nail which is inserted inside a broken femur so as to urge the two bone halves together, thereby facilitating a healing by a natural growth process.
Another patent of interest as disclosing a bone implant is U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,911 which issued to Frey et al. on Sep. 11, 1990. This patent is of interest inasmuch as the bone implant is formed of a plastic body having a multi-layer wire fabric secured to an outside surface. As such, some flexible movement of the bone implant is facilitated and this is a desirable characteristic in the healing process. However, this type of implant would most likely be difficult and costly to manufacture which perhaps accounts for its unavailability at the present time in the commercial market.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,292, which issued to Amnon Foux on Jul. 24, 1990, is of interest as disclosing a plate positionable on an external surface of a broken bone and which utilizes the aforediscussed surgical screws. These screws are positioned in elongated holes filled with an elastically deformable material whereby the plate is utilized to stabilize the bone pieces but permits the screws, and hints the bone pieces, to move a short distance back and forth in the direction of the axis of the bone in order to promote healing.
A typical example of a plate for broken bone fixation is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,690 which issued to Giancarlo Angelino-Pievani on Feb. 7, 1984. This patent is representative of a plurality of prior art patents which disclose various configurations for rigid bone-holding plates.
Another patent which is of interest and which relates to a bone plate is U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,680 which issued to Degar Tunc on Mar. 6, 1990. This patent discloses an absorbable bone plate which is constructed totally of materials that will eventually be absorbed in the body.
As can be appreciated, all of the above-discussed bone fixation devices are functional for their intended purposes and there is a distinct possibility that all are now being used at various times. However, as can also be appreciated, there is a continuing need for new and improved bone and tissue fixation devices which represent a simpler and less costly construction while facilitating an enhanced degree of reliability. In this respect, the various embodiments of the present invention substantially fulfill this need.